We're ok at centre-half at the moment, but the injury concerns of some of our defenders could change that at any moment. Let's hope that Dawson can get back to full fitness as soon as possible.
Not sure I'd be as confident as that, PNP. We're an injured Ledley away from having no CB cover at all and hoping that Gallas doesn't get a knock. And in the Europa our defence is, well, makeshift seems an understatement. Real shame we're not going to see Dawson back for a while. I think we need another CB in Jan.
We've currently got 4 fit centre-halves and a right-back that can play there if needed, Lenny. King, Kaboul, Gallas, Bassong and Corluka. I think that we need to replace Bassong in January, as he clearly wants to go and I think that we should loan out Rose and get in some decent cover for BAE. The youngster's not playing enough to improve and a versatile bit of back-up would be ideal.
I've said it before, but we should've stumped up the cash for Cahill in the summer. I think he'll go elsewhere now
Never been a massive fan of Dawson and in my opinion at best he should be cover for Kaboul, King or Gallas.
Can't say that I agree King, but if everyone's fit then having King and Kaboul for the league and Gallas and Dawson for the cups is pretty decent. That's the real problem with both Bassong and any possible replacement or addition to the squad. What happens if everyone's available?
Totally agree. I've been slated for saying it before, but his performances are way too inconsistent, IMO.
We were all clamouring for him to be called up for England only a year or so ago. It does seem strange that our defenders are constantly getting injured, while our strikers never seem to be injured.
I'm with King and nsis, heart of a lion, but I don't think he's the leader technically he thinks he is. His back4 organisation isn't good, he plays best with King and Gallas where he obviously takes a back seat on that one, when he's paired with Kaboul, I'd like to see Younes as the leader so to speak, and that won't happen all the time he gets the armband in Kings absence. Our version of John Terry perhaps...minus the 'foul' character of course!
Don't get me wrong, I rate Cahill. But didn't Notlob want something like £18mm for a guy with less than 1yrs contract left?
God - sorry. You know I actually forgot all about Bassong - apologies. Still, though - it's not felt, at any point this season, like we have much cover at CB. So yeah - not as urgent as my first post indicated. But it still feels a bit like we're relying on one of King or Gallas to be injury-free every week. Not a great bet. And what if everyone's fit at the same time? We wake up, I guess. Cos squads (especially ours) are hardly ever 100% fit. I would not be surprised if it's been more than a good couple of years since that happened. If Bassong wants off then I think that would be a great opportunity to get someone else in - someone who's genuinely going to push Kaboul for a place. It would be a bit harsh cos Bassong did so well for us in his first season but he seems like the kind of player who needs to play consistently.
Unfortunately, two of our CB's are over 30, and prone to long term injuries. Obviously, we have to hope that they both don't get injured at the same time. But, if they do, as happened just recently, we look a bit short there. Corluka's no more than a stop-gap at CB - so I can see why we we're interested in Cahill.
What about a loan move for someone in the Jan transfer window just as cover as we still have Caulker who is currently on loan at Swansea to come back at the end of the season don't see why Harry would spend money on a CB when next season we are more than likely to have King, Gallas, Dawson, Kaboul and Caulker. Surely it would be silly to have 6 quality defenders fighting for 2 first team places. Unless we can can get Cahill on the cheap then i would be happy to get in a loan until the end of the season.
Think I'm with PNP on this. I reckon we're good for centre backs. Hopefully Gallas is feeling better and maybe another Europa 90 mins away from being ready for League action (if needed that is, King and Younes have been top drawer). King and Younes as I said have been great. Bassong's there for Europa and back up. Charlie can fill in at CB if needed. Hopefully Daws can be back in say Jan/ Feb time which will boost the ranks. And if we were really desperate in the mean time we could use Livermore or even Sandro there. Buying another CB who wants guaranteed first team football is just going to leave too many unhappy and it's a waste of money in my opinion. Lets not forget that Caulker will be back in the summer to hopefully make a challenge for a place in the 18 man squad and Khumalo will return too, though I doubt we'll ever see him play a first team game for us as according to wiki he's only made 4 appearances for Reading (I know he's injured at the moment but I think that's a recent one or has it been long term?) and so if he can't keep a place there what chance has he got here. Does anyone know any Reading fans or have they been on their board to get any reviews of him?
One thing to bear in mind is that the teams we come across in the EL will start improving in quality after the group stages. Getting away with Livermore or Corluka in CB won't cut it. Say Dawson's still injured and we have a big game on the Sunday after a EL game away on the Thursday. Harry won't want to be down to his bare bones for the Prem game so even one injury to King, Gallas or Kaboul will make him play Bassong and one of Livermore or Corluka in CB to protect the other two CBs. I'm doing two things here that people might not agree with: a) assuming one, two (or even three) injuries to our CBs at all times and b) giving a monkey's about the EL. I know that finding a place for a new CB will be a problem. A bit like the current problem of how to fit Sandro in. But that's a good problem. Youth player midfielders as 3/4 of your defence is a bad problem.
You have to remember that both Ledley, and Gallas' contracts are up at the end of this season. There's no guarantee either of them will be re-signed. We have to plan for the future, and IMO, if we see our future as title challengers, then neither Dawson, nor Bassong are up to required standard.
If Corluka were a slightly more reliable centre-back we would be in great shape, and could even afford to lose Bassong in January without replacement, given that we are likely to see Caulker back next year. I'm surprised Corluka hasn't expressed a desire to leave to be honest. Walker will always get in the team ahead of him because of his greater attacking threat, and to be honest I prefer Kaboul at right back to Charlie, even if he is playing well in the middle at the moment.
Good point re Caulker WY, his form for Swansea was very good before his injury, with a few clean sheets in their start. His progress has to be taken into consideration I would have thought, if he has a season like Walker did with Villa. As for buying a replacement of King or Gallas quality, we can't afford it imo, and Cahill does not fit that bill either.
Yeah - interesting point regarding Corluka. I really like him as a player but it could well be the case that he'll be surplus to requirements from next season. I too think Kaboul looks very good at RB and earlier in his career I honestly thought that he looked much more comfortable going forward than he did defending. And his stints at RB in the last year or so have looked very competent. What with Naughton, Smith and the other England U-21 RB (forget his name now) on the books maybe Corluka could go. Shame that both Gallas AND King are out of the contract in the summer - tricky decisions to be made there.
